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Riverdale: Carrie Musical Episode Gets a Retro Poster

Riverdale creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa found a particularly novel way to drum up more excitement for the show's special Carrie: The Musical episode. Today, he's giving fans their first look at a decidedly retro-tinged promo poster. He says the upcoming episode might be his own personal favorite, too.

Anticipation has been mounting ever since producers unleashed a tantalizing trailer in March, revealing Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) will be going mega-meta by directing the musical within the episode. Meanwhile, Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) will take on the role of the terrifyingly telekinetic teenager (or, as she says in "The Noose Tightens" episode: “I’m obviously Riverdale High’s Carrie White… and this school is gonna burn.”) Titled "A Night To Remember", the trailer implies somebody's out to hurt Cheryl by sending menacing letters in an attempt to have her ousted from the show.

Sadly, Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) will not be belting out any show tunes because he'll be too busy filming a documentary about the production. Press materials describe the Riverdale High School Drama Department's production as a "dark-yet-catchy cautionary tale exploring the gritty realities of small-town high school life." Expect a kitsch, kaleidoscopic swirl of influences, including the classic Brian De Palma adaption from 1976, the dismal 1988 Broadway fiasco, the off-Broadway revival in 2012, and even Kimberly Peirce's 2013 remake. Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) will play Carrie's cruel nemesis Chris Hargensen, while Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) are stepping into the backstabbing shoes of Sue Snell and Tommy Ross, respectively. What's more, there will be cameos by Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray) as the altruistic, ill-fated gym teacher and Alice Cooper (Mädchen Amick) will chew scenery as Carrie's mother. The episode is set to feature 11 songs in total. No word yet on whether "Out for Blood" or "It Hurts to Be Strong" will be among them.

To say Aguirre-Sacasa is a fan of Carrie is an understatement. Not only did he write the 2013 film adaption of King's first novel (which starred Chloë Grace Moretz), he's an admitted champion of the much-maligned camp calamity that mortified the world in 1988. Seven songs were desperately scrapped from that production in hopes of saving it, but Carrie: The Musical only ran for 16 previews and 5 performances on Broadway before being drenched by its own bucket of pig's blood in the form of truly excoriating reviews. The show was winkingly revived in 2012 at New York's Lucille Lortel Theatre, but we're hoping Riverdale finally gives the material the treatment it richly deserves.